MAUD IS HOME

21 February 2019 » Uncategorized | respond

HOME AFTER ONE HUNDRED YEARS

After seven years of steady work by our Maud Returns Home project team and endless support by Tandberg Eiendom who has been alone on the administration and financial side, old polar ship Maud arrived in Vollen on the 18th of August 2018, followed by an armada of support vessels and greeted by thousands of people along the shores of Asker. The homecoming became a national celebration and NRK Television followed us with live covering the last days of our sailing along the coast towards the Oslo fjord. For us the whole experience of arriving home turned surreal after years in the emptiness of the Arctic and for Maud it must have been quite a surprise after 100 years away from home.




Maud arrival in Vollen 18th of August 2018 – a moment to remember

photo: Kevin Coeckelbergs/MRH







SUMMER OF 2018 – FROM WEST GREENLAND TO NORWAY

After a challenging departure from Cambridge Bay, Canada in the autumn of 2017 we battled the drift ice in the Northwest Passage and arrived in Aasiaat on the west coast of Greenland early September for the winter. To cross the Atlantic in the late autumn was not advisable as we had a clear wish to arrive Norway safe and sound. Patience is a virtue. But as the ice opened in June 2018 we could prepare and depart for the last journey to Norway for Maud after 100 years




Maud is sailing the coast of Greenland early summer 2018

photo: janf/mrh


Beautiful scenery surrounding Maud along the east coast of Greenland.

photo: janf/mrh


We had various weather across the Atlantic ocean and did several stops waiting for calmer weather both on Iceland and Faeroe Island before the last leg towards the west coast of Norway.

Photo: janf/mrh


And as some people say – Amundsen is watching over you guys.
photo: janf/mrh




THE HOMECOMING

So finally after seven years of battle we could cross the old trail of Maud as we sailed in to Bergen one 100 years + one month after she sailed out on her long journey in the summer of 1918. We all felt pretty much out place and so did Maud as we entered the harbor of Bergen on a rainy morning in early august 2018. And during the next few weeks we enjoyed the feeling of having brought old Maud back to her homeland after a long long journey. The reception from the public was overwhelming and I do think many people felt the same as we have done, that the homecoming of Maud also somehow became the homecoming of Roald Amundsen himself after he flew out from Tromsø the summer of 1928 and never returned.




After months at sea Maud suddenly became urban in the middle of downtown Bergen

photo: janf/mrh


When approaching the Oslo fjord Maud was greeted by the pilot at Færder Fyr

photo:janf/mrh


At Arrival Oslo we were greeted by a big crowd and the Mayor, Marianne Borgen

photo: janf/mrh


On Sunday the 19th of August we visited Amundsens home Uranienborg at Svartskog.
photo: janf/mrh


Maud back outside Akershus Fortress 100 years after her first winter in 1917-18

photo: janf/mrh


As we came closer to Vollen we were met by an armada of boats of all kinds and who could not feel something special in that very moment in time.

photo: janf/mrh


Parked for the first winter in Norway at Maudheim Tofte. The winter roof is completed and we can now focus on the continued preservation of Maud.
Photo: stigp/mrh




FURTHER PLANS FOR MAUD
We are now started the slow but steady process of developing the basis for a future House of Maud, placed in Asker. The exact position is not yet defined. Our focus is to create a communicative and fascinating atmosphere around Maud during the conservation process, also gradually more available to the public. Maud Contemporary represents the transition period the old polar ship will undergo after having spent 100 years in nature surroundings, and now facing a future in a conceptualized environment. This is a great challenge to make happen in the right way. Maudheim Tofte is placed at the southern most coast of the new big Asker Municipality, about 1 hour drive south of Oslo center.




jan wanggaard
project manager
MRH/Maudheim Tofte

MAUD RETURNS HOME – A PROJECT INITIATED AND REALIZED BY TANDBERG EIENDOM